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AMJ advised Al Ahlia Insurance Company on its maiden IPO, conversion to a joint stock company and listing on Muscat Securities Market (MSM). The IPO raised OMR 7.5 million through the public offering of a 25% stake (25,000,000 shares at a price of 300 baisas per share) open to individual and institutional investors. It was subscribed by 2.43 times, indicating strong demand from both the investing public and institutional investors to the first share offer on the Muscat bourse in 2017.

This was also the first IPO by an insurance company ahead of the statutory deadline for insurers in Oman to increase their capital to OMR 10 million and list on the Muscat Securities Market.

AMJ’s corporate/capital markets team assisted Al Ahlia in securing key consents and approvals for the IPO from a range of regulatory bodies and with the drafting of the prospectus to ensure all stakeholders’ requirements were satisfied. In particular, AMJ assisted in obtaining CMA approval for the offer of 25% of Al Ahlia’s issued and paid-up share capital to public subscription by way of exemption from Article 61 of Oman’s Commercial Company’s Law (CCL) which provides for a minimum 40% share offer. The CMA also permitted Royal & Sun Alliance (Middle East) B.S.C as a strategic investor to hold a 52.50% majority stake in the new entity as an exception to the CCL which restricts to 20% the shares of a promoter in a public joint stock company.

The AMJ team comprised senior partner, Mansoor Malik, corporate/capital markets partner Ardeshir Patel, senior associate Nasar Ahmad and associate Armughan Ashfaq.